Shares of jewelry heavyweight Chow Tai Fook jumped 15% on Friday after the company reported its strongest annual results on record for the financial year ended in March.
The Hong Kong-based retailer posted a record profit attributable to shareholders of HK$9 billion, or about $1.15 billion, marking an increase of more than 50% from a year earlier.
Operating profit also climbed, rising 27.8% year over year to HK$18.9 billion.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Friday, Chief Financial Officer Karen Yih said higher gold prices helped improve the company’s overall profit margin and increased gross profit from its weight-based gold products.
Yih added that Chow Tai Fook is also seeing stronger demand for its design-focused offerings as China’s uneven, K-shaped economic recovery continues.
“Our high-margin fixed-price jewelry sells exceptionally well,” she said, pointing to robust demand in China’s top-tier cities as well as overseas markets. She added that demand for these products has remained relatively resilient even during periods of gold-price volatility.
Chow Tai Fook’s stock chart.
Chow Tai Fook’s guidance for the 2027 financial year also came in above expectations on both sales and margins, according to a Citi note on Thursday. Same-store sales growth in April and May were also stronger than expected, buoyed by demand recovery in its weight-based gold jewelry business amid a pullback in gold price.
Citi estimated that Chow Tai Fook could gain net profit margin growth in 2027 on plans to open more luxury and self-operated stores, as well as its signature jewelry collections.
Gold saw a jump in late 2025 to early 2026 as investors sought safety amid macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties, but has dropped about 20% since the start of the Iran war.
Chow Tai Fook shares last traded 15.38% higher.
